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Charles Barry (1795-1860) is best-known as the architect of the new Houses of Parliament. With the designer AWN Pugin (1812-1852) he created the most iconic building in London, familiar to millions the world over as a symbol of Britain and representative democracy. It was a labour of love. Barry was a Londoner through-and-through: he was […]

After months of lying dormant, this blog is about to spring back into life. That’s because I’ve just completed my second book, a sequel to The Day Parliament Burned Down. It’s taken about two years to complete: six months of research, about 15 months of writing (roughly one chapter per month with time off at Christmas 2014) […]

It had to happen. Yes, more stuff boxes have come to light. Regular readers of this blog will know that I have a growing collection of memorabilia relating to the old Palace, specifically items made from the salvaged wood and metal extracted from the smoking ruins in 1834. And I’m always on the lookout for […]

A few people have asked me recently if I can post specially-signed copies of The Day Parliament Burned Down to them for Christmas. The answer is: yes! The costs, including first class postage within the UK, and packing, are: £12 paperback £16 hardback Please use the ‘contact’ page on the website, letting me know your […]

Here is a recent blogpost I wrote for the excellent Virtual St Stephen’s Project, a collaborative academic project based at York University which is seeking to reconstruct the history and architecture of one of the most famous and influential buildings of the old Palace of Westminster. It describes how one of the biggest paintings of […]

Of all the legislatures in the world which follow the Westminster model, the Parliament of Canada in Ottawa seems most familiar to British observers. It has a House of Commons, members of Parliament and a Gothic-revival Parliament building, a Hansard, an impartial Speaker (unlike the USA, for example) and procedural manuals and processes which parallel those in […]